September 21, 2011 Edition

Beatles tribute, sculpture
lives up to legends

John Bland
Publisher

If the Liverpool Legends had sung, "Here Comes the Sun," it could have provided a touch of irony and humor to Sunday's very successful The Beatles at the Ridge event.

Headline writers apparently had fun with our Beatles tribute and enjoyed use of lyrics from the famous Beatles songs. The Jonesboro Sun's was "In the pouring rain - very strange: Beatles monument dedicated."

It was quite exciting that The Wall Street Journal sent a reporter and ran a front-page story on the event. The WSJ headline was "Beatles Said a Fast Hello, Goodbye but a Tiny Town Won't Let It Be: A Fleeting Stopover in Walnut Ridge, Ark., Forty-Seven Years Ago Launches a Festival."

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Louise Harrison, sister of the late George Harrison of The Beatles, is manager of the Liverpool Legends in Branson, Mo. "The Liverpool Legends
are four talented musicians and actors who were hand-picked by Louise Harrison É," according to their website. They donated their Sunday performance.

We liked what Louise Harrison had to say while at the tribute. She said, loosely paraphrasing, that the Liverpool Legends were happy to be part of the monument dedication and Beatles remembrance, especially if it can have a positive impact on the area.

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We also join others in saluting the Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee, led by Dr. Brett Cooper and Charles and Jackie Snapp, to see The Abbey Road Beatles sculpture and celebration through to a successful completion. Danny West, artist, did an excellent job on the sculpture and donated countless hours to the project. The sculpture aptly marks The Beatles brief, but memorable, stopover in here in 1964.